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Home , Battle of Flodden, Cowgate, Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh town walls, George Heriot, Grassmarket

have control of the town whilst the other controlled its The WALLS of , 1427 - 1764 . Save for St Margaret‟s Chapel, nothing survives of David Flintham the first castle - following its capture by Robert I (the Bruce) in 1314 from the English, he ordered the defences to Edinburgh is dominated by its castle on its perch on an be dismantled to prevent English re-occupation. The extinct volcano, known as . Whilst the use of English did re-occupy the site in 1335 and rebuilt some of the site defensively could date back as far as Roman times the defences but could not prevent the castle‟s recapture by and the origins of the castle itself from the end of the 11th the Scots under Sir William Douglas in 1341 and in 1356 centuryi, it was not until around 1130, during the reign of David II set about rebuilding the castle, including a massive King David I, that Edinburgh was established as a royal L–shaped tower at its eastern end which became known as (and didn‟t actually become ‟s capital until David‟s Toweriii. the reign of James III)ii. By the end of the 12th Century, the town‟s existing defences To the north of medieval Edinburgh lay the marshy were being improved and added to – records mention a depression which became the (and is now West Gate by 1160, a South Gate in 1214 and the occupied by the railway and Princess Street Gardens). Netherbow Port in 1369iv. In 1362, the Wellhouse Tower From here, a steep slope led up to Edinburgh (now was built beneath the north wall of the castle to protect its Edinburgh‟s Old Town) and with the Castle on its rocky water supply. But the first recorded wall was known as the outcrop, the north and west sides of Edinburgh were „King‟s Wall‟ which was first recorded in 1427. In 1450, adequately defended. So any walls were needed to James II enabled the burgesses of Edinburgh to defend their primarily defend the south and east sides and it was for city by the issuing of a charter: economic and defensive purposes that the first town wall „Forasmuch as we are informed by our well-beloved (likely to be a timber palisade and ditch) was established Provost and Community of Edinburgh, that they dread the sometime in the 12th century. evil and injury of our enemies of England, we have in favour of them, and for the zeal and affection that we have for the Provost and Community of our said Burgh, and for the common profit, granted to them full licence and leave to fosse, bulwark, wall, tower, turret, and other ways to strengthen our said Burgh in what manner of ways or degree that be seen most speedful to them. Given under our Great Seal at the last day of April, and of our reign the thirteenth year, anno 1450.v‟ Thus, Edinburgh was one of only three Scottish towns (the others being Perth and Stirling) to be defended by stone walls. The wall was still under construction twenty years later as on 28 April 1472, James III ordered the demolition of houses built on or close to the walls. Below the steep southern flank of what became the Royal , and before the ground rose again ran a hollow which evolved into the , a track for the cattle kept in byres in the burgh to go back and forth to pasture on the Meadows. In 1477, James III banned „all quick beasts, kye, oxen‟ within the wallsvi. The wall was about 1.5 metres thick and ran along the south side of the , above the Cowgate, from Castle Hill in the west towards St. Mary‟s Street in the east where it turned northwards to cross the Royal Mile, enclosing a space no larger than 0.8 by 0.4 kilometresvii. Following the disaster of the in 1513, the inhabitants of Edinburgh braced themselves for an English invasion and resolved to improve the defences and extend them to cover the Cowgate and areas (it was also an opportunity to control smuggling into the burgh). In February 1514, the French ambassador to Scotland, Sieur de la Bastie, wrote of Robert Borthwick, the master gunner, „hes devisit bulwerkis and trinchis‟ (it is believed that this is the very first use of the term „bulwark‟ in Scottish history) to be made before and to „stuff‟ the place with men and artilleryviii, although these works were not carried out. Never-the-less, it was decided Edinburgh’s defences, showing Flodden and Telfer Walls to build a new wall, which became known as the „Flodden (after RCAHMS) Wall‟ and in early in 1514 the Town Council imposed a levy for its construction and work commenced (although it At various times though its history, Edinburgh would find was not completed until 1560). itself at odds with the castle – it was not rare for one side to

Wenceslas Hollar’s 1670 view of Edinburgh from Salisbury here and a number of memorials have been subsequently Craigs. Clearly illustrated are the Flodden Wall and the built into it where it turned south for about 260m and then Bristo Port (at 19), the Potterrow Port (at 20) and the West continued eastwards again (overleaf). Port (22). Hollar indicates that the wall was connected to the castle. © Trustees of the British Museum

The wall was as high as 7.35m in places and around 1.2m thick, with rectilinear towers pierced by „dumb-bell‟ loopsix (although these were probably designed for appearance since their function would be unaffected by adding an extra aperture to a gun-loopx), with a clear space of 3.6m on the inside and 7.2m on the outside of the wall. It is probable the wall connected to the castle – following the excavations which commenced in 1912, the site of a at the base of David‟s Tower has been identified. This would be the likely point of connection, something indicated on James Gordon‟s c1647 view of Edinburgh Castlexi and on Alexander Kincaid‟s 1784 plan of Edinburgh. Also, modern views of the southern flank of Castle Rock from the east do show a „scar‟ descending the Rock. Whilst neither John Slezer‟s 1671 nor Theodore Dury‟s 1709 plan of the castle show the wallxii, recent archaeological investigations on a site between the Grassmarket and Castle Rock do indicate that the wall in fact did connect to the castle (as well as suggesting that parts of the Flodden Wall were actually built upon earlier defensive walls)xiii. From the base of Castle Rock, the Flodden Wall crossed the western end of the Grassmarket (right), where the West Port was located, and then climbed along the where the Tower in the Vennel still remains (overleaf). It then The view from the Half-Moon Battery showing the line of turned eastwards, along the northern edge of what is now the Flodden Wall as it crosses the western end of the ‟s School (previously Heriot‟s Hospital) Grassmarket (the course is marked in the modern pavement before reaching (the wall still exists by light-grey paving stones) before climbing up the Vennel. The Tower in the Vennel is arrowed at the top of the stairs what became known as the „‟. A clock tower was added to the structure in 1571 and again repaired in the early 17th centuryxv and demolished in 1764.

The Tower in the Vennel. The best preserved remains of Edinburgh’s walls, showing one of the ‘dumbell’ loops

Engraving titled: ‘The Netherbow Port from the East. Taken down 1764’. Inscribed: ‘Drawn by D Wilson, Engraved by W Forrest’. (SC932534 © RCAHMS. Licensor www.rcahms.gov.uk)

The Flodden Wall in Greyfriars Kirkyard (note the The Rough Wooing was just one of a series of disasters that memorials which have been subsequently built into the befell Edinburgh in the , as further wall) disturbances took place during the reign of Mary, Queen of It ran across what is now the Museum of Scotland Scots (1542-67) and its aftermath. In 1558, the Protestant (although the wall was recorded by the Ordnance Survey in Lords of the Congregation marched on Edinburgh, taking both 1854 and 1877), the Bristo and Potterow Ports were control of the town with little difficulty and forcing the located in this area, the former marked by the modern street Regent, the French (and widow of James V) at the rear of the museum. The wall continued along what to fall back on which she had fortified as part of a is now Drummond Street before, turning north at the chain of citadels which included Eyemouth, , Leith Pleasance (the Cowgate Port was located at the foot of the and . fortified Leith in accordance Pleasance) and enclosing the former Blackfriars Monastery. with current Continental thinkingxvi with the result that The wall then followed the line of St Mary‟s Street to the Leith could boast the most modern fortifications to be Netherbow Port, which stood across the Royal Mile (and is found anywhere in the (it should also be noted marked by a number of brass studs in the cobbles of the that generally, artillery failed to produce any noticeable High Street). From here, the wall continued north to the change in Scots fortificationxvii). Nor Loch, finishing at the New Port, but the course of the Following the forced abdication of Queen Mary, Scotland‟s wall has been subsequently obliterated as a result of the nobility was divided between her supporters and those of building of the railway (although it would have followed her son, the infant James VI (who was represented by a the line of what is now Jeffrey Street initially before number of regents). In May 1571, Edinburgh, held on turning west close to the line of Market Street). behalf of the Queen by William of Grange, was In places such as St Mary‟s and north of the High Street, it besieged by the forces of Regent James Douglas, 4th Earl of is likely that the „wall‟ took the form of strengthening an Morton. In what became known as „The Lang Siegexviii‟, existing line of buildingsxiv. There were six ports located in the Netherbow was barricaded; the walls repaired and the Flodden Wall (as well as a number of small ), nearby houses pulled down to improve fields of fire and to but of these, only the Netherbow Port took the form of a prevent their use by the besiegers. Unable to make large fortified gateway (a drawing of 1544 shows it as a headway, the besiegers soon withdrew but returned on 16 wide arch flanked by two round towers). Repaired in 1538, October, this time under Regent Mar. Although the it was blown open by the Earl of Hertford‟s English force defences had again been strengthened, the besiegers on 06 May 1544, who subsequently burned the town in breached the Flodden Wall but were turned back by the inner defences. This siege was lifted on 21 October although the town was blockaded until July 1572 when a truce was agreed which handed the town over to the Regent‟s party and forceds Grange to retreat to the castlexix.

The remains of the Telfer Wall, looking northwards. In the A contemporary view of the 1573 siege of Edinburgh middle distance is the Tower in the Vennel, where the Castle. This shows the Flodden Wall connecting to David’s Telfer Wall joined the Flodden Wall. Above is the castle Tower By the 17th century the King‟s Wall had been almost The siege of the Castle continued until the spring of 1573, completely absorbed within later buildings. But in 1650, in when English forces in support of the Regency, pounded response to a new English threat the mason the castle so relentlessly that by its end the castle lay in (1611-67) and the stonewright John Scott strengthened the ruins. Repairs would take two decades. From the ruins of Flodden and Telfer walls and constructed artillery David‟s Tower grew the Half Moon Batteryxx, an essay in emplacements. A line of earthworks linking Edinburgh to the „reinforced castle‟ style which had gone out of fashion Leith was also constructed ( now occupies the on the Continent more than half a century beforexxi. The line of these defences), but following defeat at Dunbar (3 Half Moon Battery protected the castle‟s eastern and south- September 1650), Edinburgh fell to the English, although eastern approaches, aspects that were more vulnerable to the castle held out for a further two and a half months. attack, especially when the town and castle were occupied Resisting mining, mortars and naval demi-cannon shipped by opposing forces. The Half Moon Battery was to prove from England, the castle finally surrendering on 24 its worth in 1640 when Alexander Leslie‟s Covenanter Decemberxxiv, although the fact that its governor, Colonel army laid siege to the castle during the second Bishops‟ Walter Dundas, quickly entered English service following War (the Covenanter‟s had taken the castle easily in 1639, the surrender, together with the reserves of provisions and but a year later, the Castle was back in Royal hands, under the lack of damage to the fabric of the castle itself suggests the governorship of Lord Ettrick). Whilst the risk of betrayalxxv. A new stone fort was built in Leith by Mylne collateral damage to the town did limit the use of the in 1650, and this subsequently became the site of Leith cannon mounted in the battery, the Castle successfully Citadelxxvi, built in 1656xxvii. resisted assault, starvation finally forcing its surrender in September 1640xxii. The In 1618 the town council bought land to the west of entrance and between 1628 and 1636 enclosed it by to Leith the Telfer Wall. The rubble-built wall ran south from the Citadel – Tower in the Vennel (this section is visible today[Figure 6]) the only to Lauriston Place; it then turned east, running as far as remaining Bristo Street, where it returned north (this section is also part of the visible) to the Bristo Port in the Flodden Wall, enclosing an Citadel area which is now largely occupied by George Heriot‟s built in the School. The Telfer Wall was named after its mason, John 1650s Tailleferxxiii.

The Jacobite rebellions of 1689, 1715 and 1745-6 each impacted upon Edinburgh. The castle declared briefly for i TRABRAHAM, CHRIS, Edinburgh Castle, (Edinburgh, James VII/II before surrendering to Williamite forces in the 1996), p. 20 and p. 22. summer of 1689, and in response to the 1715 rising, ii FRY, MICHAEL, Edinburgh: A History of the City, emplacements were built by Captain Theodore Dury (the (London, 2010), p. 48. remains of Leith Citadel, now used as a prison, were iii TRABRAHAM, CHRIS, Op Cit., pp. 23-4. captured by the Jacobites in 1715, and prisoners released). iv GIFFORD, JOHN, McWILLIAM, COLIN, and Thirty years later, in September 1745, the citizens of WALKER, DAVID, The Buildings of Scotland, Edinburgh responded to the approach of the Jacobite army (Edinburgh, 1984), pp. 84-5 and FRY, MICHAEL, by throwing up earthworks under the direction of Colin Edinburgh: A History of the City, (London, 2010), p. 48. Maclaurin, a professor of mathematics. But they offered no v MARWICK, JAMES DAVID (editor), Charters and resistance as the Camerons seized the city gates on the other documents relating to the City of Edinburgh, AD night of 16-17 September. Four days later, Government 1143-1540, (Edinburgh, 1871), pp. 70-71. forces under General Cope were defeated at Prestonpans, vi FRY, MICHAEL, Op Cit., p. 81. leaving Edinburgh Castle isolated. However, a year “live vii CATFORD, E. F., Edinburgh: The Story of a City, and let live” relationship prevailed with the 85- -old (London, 1975), p. 18. Governor Guest not interfering in the Jacobite-controlled viii MACIVOR, IAIN, „Artillery and Major Places of city as long as provisions continued to come through to the Strength in the and the East Border, 1513-1542‟, xxviii garrison . in CALDWELL, DAVID H. (editor), Scottish Weapons Demolitions to the walls began soon after the end of the and Fortifications, 1100-1800, (Edinburgh, 1981), p. 105. Jacobite threat in 1746. First to go, in 1762, were the ix Ibid., p. 105. of the Telfer Wall along Lauriston Place which x CRUDEN, STEWART, The Scottish Castle, (Edinburgh, were demolished as they were obstructing traffic. The 1960), p. 217. Netherbow survived until 1764, when it too was removed xi KENYON, JOHN and OHLMEYER, JANE (editors), as an obstruction to traffic. The West Port and the The Civil Wars: A Military , Scotland xxix Potterow Port were removed in the 1780s . and Ireland, 1638-1660, (Oxford, 1998), p. 223. Undoubtedly, Edinburgh‟s military strength lay with the xii TABRAHAM, CHRIS and GROVE, DOREEN, Fortress castle, and compared with other towns of similar standing Scotland and the Jacobites, (London, 1995), p. 29 and p. elsewhere in Europe, Edinburgh‟s walls appear as 47). something of an afterthought, and out-dated (whilst xiii LAWSON, JOHN A., and REED, DAVID, Edinburgh was still in the process of completing the Conservation and Change on Edinburgh’s Defences, Flodden Wall, elsewhere in Europe, bastioned artillery (Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Edinburgh, 2003), fortifications were starting to be introduced). But the walls, (SAIR 10). along with the network of closes and narrow passages that xiv CULLEN, W. DOUGLAS, The Walls of Edinburgh, are still a feature of the Old Town to this day, did have a (Edinburgh, 1988), p. 1. military value, as Edinburgh faced hostile forces on no xv KERR, HENRY F., „Notes on the Nether Bow Port‟ in fewer than 8 separate occasions between 1570 and 1745. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, But one should not view Edinburgh‟s defences from a (1933), vol. 67, pp. 297-307. purely military perspective as they were not constructed xvi FRY, MICHAEL, Op Cit., p. 103. solely for military purposes. As well as their defensive xvii DUFFY, CHRISTOPHER, Siege Warfare: The Fortress function, they also assisted with internal security, and, as in the Early Modern World, 1494-1660, (London, 1979), highlighted previously, helped combat the smuggling of pp. 85-7. goods in and out of the town. The walls with their xviii TRABRAHAM, CHRIS, Op Cit., p. 32. associated ports enabled the passage of goods, livestock xix POTTER, HARRY, Edinburgh under Siege: 1571-1573, and people in and out of Edinburgh to be controlled (and no (Stroud, 2003), pp. 60-65, pp. 85-6, pp. 105-6 and p. 135. doubt permitted the collection of any toils and duties) and xx FRY, MICHAEL, Op Cit., p. 105. helped control the spread of disease. The walls defined the xxi DUFFY, CHRISTOPHER, Op Cit., pp. 85-7. boundary of the for more than two centuries, xxii OSBORNE, MIKE, Sieges and Fortifications of the enclosing an area of 56.6 hectares, during which time the Civil Wars in Britain, (Leigh-on-Sea, 2004), p. 58. population of Edinburgh increased from 10,000 to xxiii CULLEN, W. DOUGLAS, Op Cit., p. 1. xxx 30,000 . xxiv DUFFY, CHRISTOPHER, Op Cit., p. 156. xxv OSBORNE, MIKE, Op Cit., p. 58. xxvi Ibid., p. 80. xxvii Leith‟s fortifications is the subject of a future paper to be published in Casemate. xxviii DUFFY, CHRISTOPHER, The Fortress in the Age of Vauban and Frederick the Great, 1660-1789, (London, 1985), p. 172. xxix COGHILL, HAMISH, Lost Edinburgh, (Edinburgh, 2004), p. 14. xxx CULLEN, W. DOUGLAS, Op Cit., p. 1. 